Winding down...

Our day in Vancouver started with gorgeous blue skies and sunshine...what a gift. Our trusty GPS "Lola" got us out of the big city in record time, and we headed back toward the good ol' USA. In no time at all we were thru customs. I loved it when the border patrol guy said "welcome home!" I turned on my cell phone for the first time in a couple of days, and it was nice that there were no urgent messages from home. As a matter of fact, there were NO messages at all! I'm beginning to think the girls are having way too much fun without us!
By the time we were just north of Seattle the skies were gray and the sun was nowhere to be found. I, of course, loved it But I think between all of the driving and the lack of sun, BA was a bit weary. And I guess I can't blame him. He's driven every bit of the road time on this trip in some awful traffic, yet not once has he complained. He's a good travel buddy for sure.
Lola took us into downtown Seattle to visit the Pike Place Market...a wonderful, yet chaotic place that has fresh seafood, fresh produce, homemade wares, and probably a ton of other things that we never did get to see. I was focused on getting us to Lowell's, a seafood restaurant inside the market that I'd read about in Coastal Living magazine. It was kind of a dive, but the food was really, really good and the tables all overlooked the water. I had a dungeness crab cake, fresh prawns, and broiled salmon along with fresh steamed carrots and rice with homemade mango salsa. Talk about yummy! I knew it might be my last chance to get fresh seafood, and I didn't want to waste it! Afterward we decided to walk off our meal,so we hiked a LONG way to the Space Needle...a really, really long way. We saw some wonderful parts of the city and some rather seedy parts, as well, but we made it! Then we played tourist as we waited in line for tickets, waited in line for the elevator, jammed way too many people into the elevator, and joined thousands of visitors at the top of the needle. Ok, that last part was an exaggeration, but there were a LOT of people up there. While it was impressive to see the city from up high, my tourist fun meter was just about pegged and we still had a long hike back to find our car. Oh yeah...we hiked back. Did I mention it was a long way?!
I'm sitting comfortably in our room at the Hilton now...I'm kind of afraid to get up. I'm not sure my body will cooperate after all it's been thru on this vacation. It's been a crazy, wild, awesome trip. But I'm tired and ready to head home. One last wake-up and we'll be on our way. The next time you hear from me it will be from my own home with my own family and my own warm beagle. Later!